• Zuhair Al-Nubani: “The citizen is a partner in the political process and is responsible for the development of the Parliament’s legislative role by choosing the best-suited representative.”

• Ghishan: “Elections play a crucial role in enhancing popular political participation and renewing the political elite.”

• The people of Madaba stressed the importance of fighting financial corruption in the electoral process and holding those involved in fraudulent activities accountable. They also believe that tribal affiliations strongly influence voting behavior in light of weak political party presence.

On Sunday, June 15th, 2024, Al-Quds Center for Political Studies organized a conference at the Madaba municipality hall titled “The 2024 Election: Enhancing Political Participation and Reducing Abstention.” The dialogue featured artist Zuhair Al-Nubani and the author and journalist Nabil Ghishan. The mayor of the Greater Madaba Municipality, Aref Al-Rawajih, gave a welcoming speech to the participants.

Al-Nubani, in his speech, emphasized the importance of the citizens’ role in participating in the political process through the elections, a constitutional right. He also brought attention to the importance and role of various levels of education in spreading political awareness among successive generations. Political education will also contribute to increasing political participation rates in elections. Al-Nubani also raised a number of questions that play a role in the decision to participate, among these questions, who is responsible for selecting the right candidate and why do citizens choose not to participate in the selection process.
Additionally, Al-Nubani highlighted the flaws in the management of human resources and energy, noting that addressing this issue should start with the Parliament, as they are responsible for deciding laws and overseeing the institutions of executive power. Al-Nubani called on citizens to take the initiative themselves and repair the imbalances in state management by choosing qualified deputies..

For his part, journalist Nabil Ghishan explained the function of elections and how they broaden the base of participation in the decision-making process. He elaborated on the reasons for abstention, such as the lack of trust in both the election results and the management in the electoral process. Ghishan called on confronting vote-buying and taking the appropriate steps to ensure that perpetrators of electoral fraud, including bribery, are held accountable in front of the judiciary. Ghishan added that the failure to hold perpetrators of vote-buying accountable is a violation to the Constitution and the Jordanian political system. He stressed the importance of preserving the integrity of the ballot boxes.

Ghishan also addressed the role of the media, highlighting their decreasing interest in raising political awareness. He called for the development of the media’s role in this issue, as they suffer from neglecting this crucial aspect of reporting. He also mentioned the weakness of other institutions, such as the Independent Election Commission. Ghishan concluded by emphasizing the importance of opposition in the political system and its crucial role in regulating the performance of the executive authority

The mayor of Madaba, Aref Al-Rawajih, welcomed the participants in his speech and affirmed the importance of citizen participation in the political reform process. He reminded them of His Majesty the King’s speech at the Silver Jubilee Ceremony, in which he stressed the need for citizens to shoulder their responsibilities in the journey for reform and renewal. Al-Rawajih stated that active participation in elections is the way through which elected councils are able to carry out their roles in representing the people. He confirmed that partisan participation is crucial at the next stage, as 41 seats are allocated to political parties on the national list, taking into account the need to monitor the issues accompanying the electoral process.

The participants’ interventions and comments focused on the role of tribal and familial influence on citizens’ electoral behavior. They claimed that participation turnout is largely driven by the need to appease the tribe or family, and this factor especially affects women’s behavior.

Additionally, the participants brought attention to the decline in public freedom, especially the freedom of expression, which negatively affects their attitudes and beliefs about the value and importance of participation.

Among the issues that the participants highlighted was what they called “management dysfunction.” This issue is manifested by plans and strategies that exist on paper, but are not implemented, as well as the failure to adopt efficiency standards. The participants also brought up the bias in selecting leadership positions, basing the decisions on personal relationships and affecting the levels of trust between citizens and officials.

The Executive Director of the Al-Quds Center for Political Studies oversaw and opened the dialogue session. During her speech, she pointed out that there has been a decline in the overall rate of participation in the elections. According to the Independent Election Commission, there was low voter turnout in a number of districts and regions in the last parliamentary election. Specifically, the city of Madaba is one of the districts that has witnessed low turnout at their polling stations. Salem confirmed that this dialogue session is not the first and will not be the last session in the Madaba governorate. These sessions aim to stimulate participation and discourage indifference as part of a national campaign launched by the Center in mid-2023 to encourage participation turnout in the elections.

Salem stressed that high turnout at the polling stations is an effective tool in combating vote-buying. It is important to build up the role of political parties and civil society organizations in Madaba to reach citizens everywhere, without exclusion or discrimination, to encourage them to participate frequently in elections.